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[nafex] Dormant Oils



Robert:

1.  The Ortho Volck oil spray described by Tom is a traditional 
"superior" type oil, and, presumably, heavier than the "summer oils" 
that are now on the market.  I have a product called Eco-Oil from 
Gardens Alive(?) , and another from Bonide that are billed as all-season 
oils.  The Eco-Oil label says it should not be applied above 90F.  But 
if you read the labels and booklets carefully, you discover that they do 
not really recommend use of these oils on fruit tree during the growing 
season.  They do recommend use in the green-tip and delayed dormant 
stages of fruit trees, and that's how I use them here.   All oils are 
phytotoxic on leaves to some extent, which means that in combination 
with sunlight, they will french-fry your leaves.

2.  If you do choose to use oils during the growing season, I believe 
the dilution rate is more important than the temperature.  When I use 
them in the late dormant season, I mix 4-5 ounces of oil per gallon of 
water.  During the growing season, I don't think I would go over 1 ounce 
per gallon of water.  The more oil you put on your leaves, the more 
phytotoxicity.  And at this application rate, I think their 
effectiveness is questionable.

3.  The real questions I would ask are:  what do you plan to use the 
oils on, and what are the target insects?  I think a lot of the 
"organic" crew likes to apply oils simply because they meet the organic 
test, not because they really do any good.  You probably would be about 
as well off by mixing a little warm spit in your tank.  Oils work by 
smothering their targets, and in the case of overwintering eggs, with 
high application rates, they are pretty effective at this job.  They 
may, I say may, be marginally effective in low concentrations during the 
growing season on such pests as aphids, leafrollers, scale insects, 
mites, thrips, and etc..  But they won't do squat diddly doo against the 
worst tree fruit pests such as plum curculio, codling moth, oriental 
fruit moth, and the rest of that gang, and if you are spraying to 
control these major pests, you are going to catch the little bugs 
anyway.  I have put all my oil sprays away until next March.  That's 2003.

Rgds, Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA


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